DCCC: Hartzler doubles down on "me first" approach to taxpayer dollars

(From the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee)

Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler just doubled down on her “Me-First” approach to taxpayer dollars – voting to slash nutrition assistance in the Farm Bill after taking hundreds of thousands of tax dollars in agricultural subsidies tied to the same bill herself.  

 Congresswoman Hartzler's "Me-First" personal subsidy would feed 250 Missouri families for a year.

 “Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler’s hypocrisy is perfectly in line with her dysfunctional Washington politics, which are so out of touch with Missouri values,” said David Bergstein of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Congresswoman Hartlzer claims she cares about controlling spending – but she has no problem spending hundreds of thousands of tax dollars on herself. And when a politician like Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler says one thing, but does the opposite, it shows that it’s impossible to trust Congresswoman Hartzler to look out for us.”

BACKGROUND:

Congresswoman Hartzler voted for $40 Billion in cuts to the SNAP program. [HR 3102, Vote #476, 9/19/13]

Springfield News-Leader: Hartzler Rails Against Government Waste While Benefiting from “Federal Largesse.”Rep. Vicky Hartzler is a fiscal conservative who crusades against government waste. The Harrisonville Republican is also a beneficiary of federal largesse, in the form of farm subsidies paid out to Hartzler Farms, her and her husband’s family business. The firm received $1,383 in 2012, according to new data released by the Environmental Working Group, an environmental advocacy group that annually obtains figures from the Agriculture Department. Hartzler Farms has received $822,151 in farm subsidies since 1995, according to the group’s tally.” [News-Leader, 6/05/13]

Congresswoman Hartzler Received $822,151 in Agricultural Subsides. From 1995 to 2012, Hartzler Farms received $822,151 in agriculture subsidies. In June 2013, the News-Leader reported that Hartzler Farms was Congresswoman Hartzler and her husband’s “family business.” [Environmental Working Group, accessed 9/19/13;News-Leader, 6/05/13]

One in Six Missourians Rely on Food Stamps. “The number of Missourians relying on food stamps has soared to historic levels in recent years- a trend seen across the U.S. Almost one in six Missouri residents received food stamps in May, according to the most recent data from the state Department of Social Services […] That means Show-Me State residents have a lot at state as Congress debates how much to cut the safety-net program, which is part of the farm bill.” [News-Leader, 6/05/13]

Almost 250 Missouri Families Could be Fed for a Year from the Subsidies Hartzler Received. According to the Department of Agriculture, Missouri participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program received an average of $275.89 per household per month in FY 2012, for an average of $3,310.68 that year. About 248 Missouri families could have been fed in 2012 from the $822,151 total subsidies Hartzler has received. [Department of Agriculture, 7/05/13; Environmental Working Group, accessed 7/16/13]